


Maybe Tomorrow

by Becangle



Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:22:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29230719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Becangle/pseuds/Becangle
Summary: Bobby checks on Robin when her partner recouples after Casa Amor...
Relationships: Bobby McKenzie/Main Character (Love Island)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 35





	Maybe Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little fluff piece I wrote in June and rediscovered in my doc folder yesterday! 
> 
> Thanks to Lauren and Ben for beta reading.

A late night snack. The perfect excuse.

Bobby crept slowly down the stairs; he just wanted to make sure she was ok. He would check on her, and then head straight back to bed. It’s what a good friend would do. And that’s what they were. Good friends.

First, he needed to focus on his pretend mission; a snack. He headed for the kitchen, seeking her out in his peripheries. She would be on the daybeds, right? Somehow, he was so focused on his thoughts, he missed the human-shaped creature in front of him. 

“Ooh!” It was her. “I’m so sorry, Robin” 

“Jesus, Bobby you scared the crap out of me.”

With a light in his eye, he replied, “Hopefully not literally.” 

She raised both eyebrows with an expression equal parts amusement and disdain. 

“Har har, what are you doing here?” She seemed irritated. He noticed she had a bottle of gin beside her. 

He grabbed it and took a quick swig. “Just came down for a drink.” 

“Seriously, Bobby” 

“Aye. You know me, I’m always serious. Seriously thirsty.” He took another sip, maintaining eye contact. She seemed better than he expected. She was obviously annoyed with him for interrupting her, but she had a sparkle in her eyes that he hadn’t expected to find. “Where did you even find this?” He gestured to the bottle.

“Chelsea was hiding it for a special occasion. Tonight felt special.” She shrugged. 

That was one way of putting it. It had been a rough night for everyone, especially Robin. She had just arrived back from Casa Amor single, bouncing with excitement, eager to reunite with Lucas and was met by him canoodling with his new partner, Blake. She had been polite and quiet, seemingly coping with it well. But still, Bobby worried she was more upset than she was letting on. 

She’d taken Rocco’s betrayal hard earlier in the summer. No one was surprised when he snogged Marisol. Except Robin. Everyone knew Rocco was grafting on every girl in the villa. The guy reeked of patchouli and sleaze. But Robin had liked him. She trusted him and was devastated when he pied her off for Marisol. 

She seemed alright at first. Her reaction to the kiss was quiet. No tears, no shouting. But there was disappointment and an unspoken sadness in her eyes. 

Later that night the space beside him had been unusually quiet, and he woke to a Lottie shaped hole in the bed. He had gone down ostensibly to look for Lottie, but really because he was worried about _her_.

He heard her before he saw her. Loud wracking sobs echoed down the stairs. Slowly he continued, knowing he should turn back but something pulled him further towards her. He was on a string and he could only move forward. He didn’t know what he would say. How he would help. He just knew he needed to try. 

She was flanked by Lottie and Priya. Rubbing her back and gently caressing her hair. He bolted back to bed, immediately aware he was interrupting something he shouldn’t be a part of.

This time felt different, she seemed different. More worldly, having already experienced heartache on Love Island perhaps?

But he couldn’t help but worry.

“How are you feeling about everything? I know today had to be pretty rough for you,” he offered quietly. He was struggling to get a read on how she was feeling, which was unusual for Robin. She never shared much, but she wore her emotions on her bikini strap. She rarely talked about when she was upset, but it was always painfully obvious to everyone when she was.

“Me? I’m great. Let’s play a game,” she a bit too enthusiastically replied. 

“A game? Robin, I know you may not want to talk-” he cautiously responded.

“Please, Bobby. Today really sucked and I would rather not think about it for ten minutes. Pleeeease distract me and play with me.” She gave him those eyes, those eyes he could never say no to.

He also couldn’t ignore the innuendo she had teased. They had always flirted, but it had never gone any further, despite how much he wanted it to. Bobby had hoped it might after Rocco’s departure, but Lucas swooped in almost immediately with his perfectly gelled hair and posh manners. Bobby knew he didn’t have much of a chance, even if Lucas hadn’t been around. But there was no competition between the two men. He gave up before even trying. If you don’t try, you can’t lose right? 

But now Lucas was out of the picture. Bobby didn’t want to take advantage of her vulnerability. He didn’t want to be that guy. The sleazy friend who just waits around until she breaks up with her boyfriend to move in. He hated that guy. It was an insult to the guys who could genuinely be friends with girls without an ulterior motive. 

But he didn’t want to make the same mistake he’d made before, either. He waited too long. She had been so upset about Rocco, he didn’t want to pursue anything until she was ready. 

When Rocco left, dumped in a villa vote along with Henrik, Robin seemed to feel better. Ready to move on. They announced there was a recoupling and Bobby went to bed hopeful for the morning. He wasn’t sure what he would do, but he would do something. He internally rehearsed his line for tomorrow. ‘Hey Robin, I like you and I hope you like me. Want some cupcakes?’ Is that all he really had? Cupcakes? He got up early to get a start on the day and whip up some cupcake batter. See how things go. 

Across the villa, he noticed Lucas’ over-gelled hair poking out of the sheets from a daybed. His hopes dissipated, there was only one person who would have been sleeping on the day beds last night. Robin. 

The painful memory burned in his brain, it wasn’t that long ago, a week maybe. It only took Lucas a week to completely blow it. The moment Robin left for Casa, he freaked out, convinced she would be grafting, not trusting her to be loyal. He sabotaged himself, choosing to couple up with Blake while Robin came back alone, disappointed. 

If she needed cheering up instead of a chat, he could do that for her. 

“Ok Robin, what kind of a game?” 

“Well, obviously a drinking game.” She gestured to the gin. “As for what kind of game... let’s see... Truth or Dare?” 

“We might be a little limited in dare options, but I’m game. What’s the drinking part?” 

“If you wimp out, you gotta drink,” she suggested, following it with a long sip from the bottle. “And we can just drink while playing too.” Shrugging playfully, she handed him the bottle. 

“Ok so... Truth or Dare?” Bobby started off, not wanting to be the first one. He hated games like this, always sending him into a panic spiral while he pretended to be the life of the party. 

“Dare,” Robin returned as quickly as possible. 

“I dare you to serenade me with your favourite song,” Bobby said with a grin spread across his face.

“You snuck a truth in there; now I have to tell you my favourite song too. I didn’t realize we were playing dirty already,” she teased. 

“I can’t help it. I’m just dying to know... or hear.” He winked and offered up a smile. 

She took a long swig from the bottle. “Fine, you win.” She sighed and began, “Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what’s on the other side? Rainbows are visions…” She wasn’t a great singer, but there was something honest and beautiful about the performance. 

“Really? A big Kermit the Frog fan? I didn’t know you were into green guys.” Bobby giggled. Robin jabbed him in the stomach. 

“The greener the better. I can’t explain it, it was my favourite movie when I was younger and the song has always stuck with me. It reminds me of a simpler time when things felt easy.” She seemed wistful for just a moment. “Things don’t feel easy today.” She handed him the bottle. “Your turn now, truth or dare?” 

Bobby carefully considered. If this was a group game, he would choose truth in a heartbeat. He wouldn’t always be truthful, but it was usually less intimidating. With Robin, he felt vulnerable, what if she asked something he couldn’t answer? Or didn’t want to. “I suppose... dare!” 

“Good choice! I dare you to say the alphabet backwards,” she said, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

“That’s the best you can do?” He asked, shaking his head. 

“Hey, if you can’t do it, you gotta drink!” 

“ZYXWVUTSRQO” Bobby slowly fumbled out as he realized the gin was hitting him harder than he thought. 

“Ha, you missed P,” she lit up, poking him in the shoulder. 

“Ugh, Fine.” Bobby took a long sip from the bottle. “Satisfied?”

“Absolutely.” She nodded with a playful smirk. 

They continued a few more rounds, each choosing dare, refusing to open up. Robin did a cartwheel, Bobby jumped in the pool, Robin yelled “penis.” Each dare incredibly stupid, but a relaxed energy fell over both of them. With it, the tension of the day melted away. 

Finally, Bobby felt like he could broach the awkward topic. “I dare you… to tell me how you’re feeling about Lucas.”

“You really aren’t playing fair tonight.” She narrowed her eyes. 

“Never.” 

“Fine…” she answered, looking away from him. 

“Gonna spill?” 

“I just did, I feel fine.” She sighed, seemingly choosing her words carefully as she met his eye.

“I’m not really fine; I’m annoyed with him but I’m not as upset as I should be. I always had my doubts about Lucas. I guess I’m just stuck on why this keeps happening to me. Is it me? Do I turn every guy I date into a sleaze who can’t keep his dick in his pants? Do I have a sign on my back that says ‘Cheat on me’?”

“Maybe you’re just choosing the wrong guy?” 

“I usually do.” She bit her lip and averted her eyes, her brows knitted together. 

“Why did you choose Lucas if you weren’t sure of him?” 

She shot him a glare; it made him uncomfortable. He hated when people looked at him like that. Indignant, like his existence was a bother to them. 

“Because it made sense,” she answered, her voice raised in annoyance. “We made sense together. He was the only real option and he liked me. Lottie would have had a fit if I picked Gary. Hope and Noah are hashtag-soulmates. Right?” she laughed and rolled her eyes. “Things seemed good with Priya and Ibrahim at the time. So that left Lucas. Who is so much my type on paper, it’s absurd. I liked him, but he seemed too smooth, too perfect to be real. The night after Rocco left, I spent the night with him on the day beds. Figured I’d test those sexy waters. But it didn’t feel right. You know what he said to me after we kissed for the first time? ‘Bet the other boys won’t kiss you like that’. Who says that?” 

“Mr. Too Perfect?” he offered. 

She laughed, “Yes! I love it. Oooh, I’ll show you his date move. Want to see a magic trick?” 

“Hell yes,” Bobby enthusiastically replied. 

Robin grasped his hand, entwining it with her own, gazing deeply into his eyes. “Isn’t this magical?”

Her blue eyes magnetized him, casting a spell, he could spend a lifetime captured in those eyes. Somehow, she seemed equally charmed, a look in her eyes that he had never seen from her. Desire and confusion melded into her expression. The moment lingered longer than it should have. Almost as if they were daring each other to be the first person to look away. 

He knew it wouldn't be him, it never could be. But he knew he couldn't even risk a glance at the lips he had spent so long wanting to kiss. 

Robin finally pulled away, her cheeks turned a shade of pink, and she looked equally flustered. 

Bobby tried to laugh the moment off, not knowing what else to do. “Well, I think it works,” he chuckled darkly. He was trying to gain the courage to ask. He had to ask. He needed to know. 

“Why not me?” he squeaked out, sounding more nervous than he expected. 

“Huh?” she asked, her expression unreadable. Not confused, it was something else he couldn’t place. 

“Why not me? Gary and Lottie, Noah and Hope, Priya and Ibrahim...you said that only left Lucas. But it didn’t. Did you not even think of me as an option?” Bobby knew he sounded irritated, but he was frustrated, tired of being discounted as the jokester. Maybe it was his own fault? How could he expect others to take him seriously when he didn’t.

Something shifted in her eyes, melancholy mixed with annoyance. It was beautiful, but haunting, the way she looked at him, both uncomfortable and drawn in by the intensity of her gaze.

“I like you, you know?” she quietly replied, her eyes avoiding his.

There was an electric charge in the air. As if neither person seemed to know what to say. Both hoping the other would say something while the silence awkwardly lingered.

Bobby’s mind was blank; her words leaving him frozen, confused and fairly certain he had misheard. Too much gin can do that sometimes. 

“I’ve had a thing for you since almost the beginning. I thought I’d made that pretty clear,” Robin continued. “You made it pretty clear you weren’t into me.” 

His stomach sank. That can’t be right. 

“What, no I didn’t. If I knew you liked me, I would have done something,” he defended, searching his brain for any memory or her affections. He came up empty, he would have known. 

Robin rolled her eyes with an intensity he never imagined. “Seriously? I grinded on you twice during the slime challenge, kissed you during that one challenge, helped you with the Mr. Love Island competition, and was constantly flirting with you? What more did you need? Instead, you just fawned all over Lottie. When Rocco left, who did you comfort? Me? No, fucking Lottie. Don’t pretend you weren’t into her just because she picked Gary over you.” She seemed so angry, he had never seen her like that. Nostrils flaring, fire in her eyes, an indignant look on her face, like she had been holding onto these feelings so long. She was annoyed with him for not realizing it. 

“Lottie and I are just friends.” Bobby didn’t know what else to say. It was nonsense, the girl he fancied returned his feelings and he was somehow confused and annoyed. 

“Right,” she spit out, bitterness clear from the way the words spilled off her tongue. 

She clearly didn’t believe him. Why didn’t she believe him? It’s insane, there's never been anything between him and Lottie. Why would anyone think there was? 

“Why would I pick you? So I could end up with the same situation I was in with Rocco? I guess I ended up there anyway. I probably should have just picked you. Or would you have just switched too?” She angrily turned away. “Why are you even here? You literally came to Love Island just to find friends? What’s the fucking point? You’re wasting space that could be for someone who actually wants a relationship. And your jokes aren’t even funny, you’re clearly just trying too hard so you don’t have to be yourself.”

Bobby felt like he’d been hit in the gut. It was true that he hadn’t come to Love Island expecting to find love. But he had hoped. He told his friends he was there for fun, to have a good time and get some sponsorships so he could finally open his bakery. He had a natural tendency to make friends and counted on that to coast him along. But he had hoped for more. 

The first day she came out, he was struck by her. How nervous she seemed, palming her fingers anxiously while avoiding eye contact. She was the first girl out, and like him, didn’t seem like she belonged there. For completely different reasons. She was beautiful but guarded, petite and curvy, with light brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, a smattering of freckles kissed her cheeks, in a black one-piece that was somehow more revealing than any other girl’s bikinis. She stunned, leaving him breathless, stammering with only awkward jokes as his ally. 

_Robin, 22, Vet Tech from Bristol_

Unfortunately, she was won over immediately by Rocco’s cheesy lines. She laughed at Bobby’s dumb joke too, but she picked Rocco without a flicker of hesitation. 

“I’ve had the biggest crush on you since day one. You're the only one I didn’t try to friendzone…” Bobby trailed off. He hadn’t expected the accusation from her. She was the only one for him. He had tried to play it cool. Had he played it too cool? “I hate that I’m such a fucking cliche. Desperately overcompensating with humour, terrified to let anyone know I like them. Even Marisol with her faux psych-bullshit could figure me out. I guess everyone except you.” 

Robin exhaled, frowning, the weariness of her expression worrying him. He waited too long, never told her how he felt, sabotaged himself. Now she stood in front of him, uncertain. 

“You seem like an open book but you never actually reveal anything that matters.” She finally looked up at him.

“And you do?” he asked. Why was it up to him? 

“I suppose not.” She stared off focusing her attention on a tree in the distance.

He waited for her to say more, but she didn’t. 

She moved, settling in on a bench near the kitchen. Hesitantly he joined her, they sat together quietly for a while, nothing but the noise of cicadas in the distance filling the air. 

“Why did you think I liked Lottie?” Bobby broke the silence, looking towards her

Robin’s mouth popped open, closing again with a frown. She continued looking down at her hands, anxiously picked at her fingernails. “I guess you were always hanging out with her. I was hoping to pick you and just do the friendship couple thing after Rocco left. Lucas was nice and funny and cute. But after spending the night on daybeds, I don’t know… didn’t trust him. I decided to pick you, but I found you with her. Making her fucking dolphin cupcakes because she was sad.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t have made her cupcakes if you hadn’t spent the night with Lucas.” 

“Maybe not, but you did,” she said quietly. Her anger had deflated and had been replaced with a melancholy he found more upsetting.

“I’m not a mind reader. Why didn’t _you_ ever say anything?” he challenged, not trying to mask his annoyance. This wasn’t his fault. She should be upset with Lucas, why was he the recipient of her anger? It wasn’t fair. 

“Why didn’t you?” she returned, raising her eyebrow at him, piercing him with those cold blue eyes he was so fond of. 

A sinking feeling settled in his gut. It was true, he never said anything, gave her any indication of how much he liked her. Instead, he actively pretended he didn’t, burying his feelings, not allowing her to see them. Afraid that if she did, it would hurt more. 

“I don’t know,” he said wistfully. “I wish I had.” 

“I suppose I’ve never had to let a guy know that I liked them before. They always seemed to let me know first,” she mused, a smile forming at the corner of her lips. 

“It helps that you’re drop-dead gorgeous.” He was trying to lighten the mood, but it genuinely sucked knowing he could have had her. If he had made different decisions, he could have been happily coupled up with the girl of his dreams instead of spending weeks spooning a pillow and sleeping next to a good friend who continually woke him with her monstrous snoring.

He sighed, preparing to pull off the bandaid, share his feelings. It was awkward, he hated it. Avoided it, and so often it doomed him. Ruined his relationships, in this case even before it could begin. “I’ve never really felt comfortable taking the lead on things like that. I was going to tell you I liked you after Rocco left. I really was. But I saw you with Lucas and… I made cupcakes for Lottie instead. They were supposed to be for you. I assumed I’d already lost you, which is crazy because I never even let you know I was an option.” 

“We’re both not very good at communicating, are we?” She shook her head, letting out a bitter laugh. 

“Definitely not,” he answered quickly. 

Her eyes sparkled up at him. At the least, there was an awareness between them now, something had shifted. They both knew there was something between them, something to be explored.

Robin stood and ran her fingers through her hair, exhaling deeply as she looked towards the pool. The conversation seemed to sober them both up. She suddenly began moving, grabbing the bottle of gin and swiftly heading towards the daybeds. Pausing and looking over her shoulder, she waited for him to follow. He did, settling next to her. She spread out, laying on her back and placing her hands behind her head. He followed her lead, he always did this, let the other person set the pace. Put it on them to decide where things were going. 

“So, why are you so fucked up?” she asked with a laugh.

“You first,” he quickly replied. He didn’t feel ready to get into it. For her to really know him. But he wanted her to. For the first time in a while, he wanted to be able to open up to someone, let someone see him. 

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve just never felt comfortable putting myself out there. Back in high school, if I liked a guy I tried my hardest to not let them know it. I’ve gotten much prettier since then.” She laughed and continued, ”But let’s just say I had a pretty long awkward phase.”

“I can’t even imagine you as an ugly duckling”

She smirked. “I didn’t say ‘ugly’... maybe just a little plain, and let’s just say it took me a while to develop,” she gestured to her now bountiful chest area. “So what’s your drama? You have to have some baggage, to be here and somehow be more emotionally stunted than I am.” 

As much as he hated it, she wasn’t wrong. 

Bobby’s time in the villa had been frustrating on a romantic level, which wasn’t all that different from his romantic life in the real world. He’d had a few girlfriends over the years, but none had lasted long. They either got sick of him, or he had gotten sick of them. He thought he’d been in love once, but after she broke up with him, he felt relief. He told himself he couldn’t have felt that way if it was really love. But it had felt like it. And sometimes he still thought it might have been. 

“Honestly, not too different than yours. I guess we’re alike in that way. It took me a long time to become even a little bit confident around girls. I know I’m all jokes and stuff when I’m around everyone, but I really do care about you a lot. I think I’ve just been afraid to tell you. It's easy to be loud and out there, but it’s a lot harder to let people really see me. I look at you with Lucas and I know he’s better than me in every possible way…” Bobby trailed off. 

His vulnerability was on full display and he hated it. Why couldn’t he better? More confident. More... well... like Lucas. 

“He’s really not. I promise.” 

He tentatively leaned towards her, gauging her reaction carefully. She suddenly closed the distance between them with a gentle kiss. Her soft lips meeting his, for only a moment. A thrill of electricity ran up his spine. 

That was amazing. 

“That was... nice,” he teased when he was finally able to form words. “But I still haven’t forgotten about what you said about my jokes. I don’t know if there’s any getting past that.”

“So, who’s turn is it?” she asked with a smile, such a shift from her earlier. The tension had slowly ebbed away, leaving her almost giddy. 

“I can’t even remember, truth or dare,” he asked, somehow more relaxed than at the start of the game. 

She paused, considering her decision carefully. “Truth.” 

He risked ruining the mood but had to ask. 

“Why didn’t you pick me on the first day?” He knew she wanted to go back to having fun, but he needed to know where he had gone wrong. 

She took a sip from their bottle and then sighed. “To be honest, I never considered picking you. You aren’t my usual type. And I liked Rocco. ” 

Bobby shrugged his shoulders, “ I wanted to know… I can’t blame you for being honest.”

Robin grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes. “You took me by surprise. I don’t know if I really saw you at first. The more time I spent with you the more I realized how sweet and beautiful you were. I mean look at those eyes, that face,” She gently poked his cheek. “I know it’s dumb, but I started to like you during the slime challenge. You looked really good in yellow. And well, you were fun and relaxed, and with all the villa drama... You were so nice when things fell apart with Rocco…” she trailed off, her brows furrowed until a moment later when she lit up excitedly, the sparkle returning to her blue eyes. “Since we’re being honest, I have to know, are you really into toes? How hard did you get earlier sucking on this baby?” She gestured to her big toe as Bobby furiously blushed. 

Why did he have to start the damn toe jokes? He was doomed for toe jokes to follow him to his grave. 

“I’m really not, I just said it to break the tension. I thought it would be funny and I know if I’ll never live it down. But hey, if that’s what you're into…” He raised an eyebrow. 

She hit him on the shoulder affectionately. “So if it’s not toes, what are you into?”

“I’d rather leave you with some surprises. What fun would it be if I revealed all my secrets?” 

“True, plus there are some things I’d rather find out myself.” She leaned towards him and kissed him again. Instead of a gentle kiss, she surprised him with a passionate one. She moved closer and straddled him, desperate to eliminate any space between them. He kissed her back and wrapped his arms around her. She grinded against him, completely awakening his cock, twitching immediately at her touch. 

For a moment, all he could think about was how much he wanted her. How much he needed her. 

But how far would he want to take it? He liked her, a lot. He ached for her, he wanted this, her for so long. So much, that he didn’t want to rush it. He’d had sex on the first date before, in his early twenties when he was overcompensating for his lack of high school experience. But since then he usually preferred to take things slow. He also had slept with friends before, only to have one of them regret it and ultimately lose the friendship. 

Suddenly, she pulled away, “I changed my mind.”

“Changed it from what to what?”

“I don’t want to have sex with you yet.”

“Oh... I’m fine with that, I was actually thinking the same thing.” He wasn’t sure if he was more disappointed or relieved.

She raised a disbelieving eyebrow. 

“No, I just mean. I like you a lot, and when it happens, I want it to be… I don’t even know... special?” Nervously rambling, wondering if he had already blown it, he quickly realized by the look of amusement on her face that he hadn’t. She liked him, maybe even as much as he liked her. 

She leaned towards him, running her hand up to his forearm, gently caressing it. “I completely agree, but this doesn’t mean we can’t sleep together tonight right?” She cuddled closer, settling in against his chest. 

Would this seem real in the morning? Or just like a good dream? 

“Of course not, as long as I get to be the little spoon.” 

“Deal,” she replied and shifted, wrapping her arms around him. Placing a gentle kiss to his shoulder, her breathing slowed as she drifted to sleep. 

For the first time since he arrived in the villa, he had hope. 

  
  
  
  



End file.
